Manage Your Project Engineer Career Before Someone Else Does
Date Posted: October 31, 2018
Posted In: Workforce,
From Procore Jobsite: If you don’t manage your career as a construction project engineer, someone else will. That’s because your skills fit into many roles, leaving you vulnerable to revolving job assignments that have little regard for the career direction you prefer. Managing your career means first managing your skills.
The best way to do this is to have a clear understanding of the work you want to do in the coming years. Our previous article on project engineers covered the typical career progression, as well as some not so typical paths. If you look ten years into the future, and realize you don’t want to be a construction project manager, then you should start planning right away for the role you would prefer.
Take Charge
Even if the typical path is right for you, it still pays to take charge of your career rather than leaving it up to the will of others. If you are at mid-career level or later, it’s not too late to change where your career takes you next, since many of the project engineer skills apply to related jobs. So, regardless of where you are, it’s a good idea to look ahead and decide where you want to be in the coming years.
Once you know where you’re going, your first step should be assessing your skills to see how they match up with the skills required for the following step in your career. Suppose you want to follow the typical career path of a project engineer and eventually become a construction project manager. The important skills as a project engineer––scheduling, contract management, estimating, etc.––are also a requirement for PMs. However, you will need to acquire additional skills in things like contract negotiation, Microsoft Project, budget management,and contractor management. The skills you need as a construction project manager help you manage from a higher level, with less emphasis on the details.
The Tech Questions
You will face a similar trend in technological abilities. Skills related to Microsoft Windows are still needed as a project manager, but you must also know the particular project management software used by your company. You will also find that having Autodesk AutoCAD skills will deliver about a 1% bump to your salary as a project engineer; its effect at the project manager level won’t be as important.